Medicare cost reports · fiscal years ending August 2024 to August 2025

Alabama skilled nursing benchmarks

The median Alabama skilled nursing facility filed a cost report showing 86.6% occupancy, $310 of net patient revenue per patient day and $308 of total operating expense per patient day, across 205 full-year reports. Revenue per day is below the US median of $351. Medicaid paid for 68.0% of days at the median facility, against 62.1% nationally.

Alabama against the US

Alabama: 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile by metric, with the US median
Metric25th pctMedian75th pctUS medianRange
Occupancypatient days / bed days available76.9%86.6%92.0%82.6%
Net patient revenue per patient day$294$310$331$351
Total operating expense per patient day$285$308$334$355
Operating margin as reportednet patient revenue less total operating expense-2.8%0.6%4.5%-0.3%
Medicare share of days3.1%5.0%7.6%7.5%
Medicaid share of days57.1%68.0%77.7%62.1%
Other payers share of daysprivate pay, managed care, VA and others17.6%26.8%35.8%27.7%
Medicare PPS payment per Medicare day$499$529$555$627
Contract labor share of labor cost0.5%7.8%12.7%11.5%
Beds86116148106

middle half of Alabama facilities Alabama median US median

A 100-bed building at Alabama medians

At 86.6% occupancy, 100 beds produce about 31,613 patient days a year. At the median revenue and expense per day, that is about $9,784,431 of net patient revenue against $9,742,386 of total operating expense, an operating result of $42,045 as the cost report counts it. The two medians come from different facilities, so this shows scale only.

Lenders do not underwrite that line. The cost report's total operating expense includes items a lender adds back or replaces with its own assumptions, such as rent, interest, depreciation and related-party management fees. Why reported margin is not EBITDAR.

Run your building against Alabama

Change from the prior year's reports

MedianPrior reportsLatest reportsChange (points for occupancy and margin)
Occupancy85.3%86.6%+1.3 pts
Net patient revenue per day$299$310+3.4%
Operating expense per day$297$308+3.8%
Operating margin as reported0.8%0.6%-0.2 pts

Prior reports: Skilled Nursing Facility Cost Report, fiscal years ending 2023-08 to 2024-09. Medians are of different sets of facilities in each year.

Other states

Source: CMS Skilled Nursing Facility Cost Report data (Skilled Nursing Facility Cost Report, posted October 2026), full-year reports with usable days and revenue. Per Patient Day is not affiliated with CMS. Methodology.